A ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION DIARY

(In Four Parts) 

Part Four

When Work Is Shortlisted, It Must Be Collected

We had to fly to London whether my work was in or not in the exhibition. My work was not hung; it had to be collected by June 23 and I needed to see the RA exhibition on June 4, the first day for the public to visit the exhibition.

I collected my work on May 28 and discovered that Son/ Fils was the shortlisted piece because it was retrieved from LR, the Lecture Room while the other piece was stored in the West Vault Large Works.

SON / FILS

red, blue and green colourblock painting 

on heritage wood ironing board

JIM WITH MY WORKS IN THE

KITE BOARD BAG

While I spent ten days in London as an RA shortlisted artist waiting to see THE exhibition I was also a tourist visiting Commercial Art Galleries, Tate Britain for John Singer Sargent’s Carnation Lily, Lily Rose, and Tate Modern for the Damien Hurst Retrospective with a live butterfly room; Victoria & Albert Museum for ‘Ball gowns British Glamour since 1950’, Liberty London for inspiration with pattern, Hampton Court for the Victorian garden and Great Vine, and the Wallace Collection for the François Boucher paintings and Sèvres porcelain. 

ENTRANCE TO HALES GALLERY

THE TEA BUILDING, SHOREDITCH

JUBILEE MURAL

LIBERTY LONDON

HAMPTON COURT YEWS

SÈVRES PORCELAIN

WALLACE COLLECTION

Fortunately for us, the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant was on June 3, the day before our flight home. We had great weather and a good viewing spot at Battersea Park of the Queen arriving at her Royal Barge—Spirit of Chartwell.  We met several lovely local Londoners. The rain held off for the 1,000 boat, seven mile Canaletto moment until we had seen the Flotilla in its entirety.

THE NIGHT BEFORE THE FLOTILLA

ON THE WAY TO BATTERSEA

THAMES DIAMOND JUBILEE PAGEANT

(CANADIAN FLAG AT BATTERSEA BRIDGE)

We made it to the RA Summer Exhibition on Monday morning, June 4 for only a short time before flying to Toronto in the afternoon.

I noticed that the bulk of the RA Summer Exhibition is a show of London artists and rightly so with its 244 year history. The remainder includes artist from England for the most part with a thinner representation from Scotland and Ireland and then the rest of the world.

It is the world’s largest open submission contemporary art exhibition and so the call is far-reaching but representation from the rest of the world is the smallest group. I saw artworks ranging alphabetically from Afghanistan to the United States with about eleven countries in between that include Hungary, Japan, New Zealand and Russia.

Last year there were two Canadian artists in the show, Edward Burtynsky from Toronto (represented by Flowers Gallery London) and Dr. Jennifer Dickson RA from Ottawa.

Dr. Dickson was the only Canadian artist in the show this year.

I learned why my piece did not make it in. Tess Jaray,  the shows coordinator for the show chose my painting but it was not suitable for the specific room she was hanging which featured small pieces, but wasn’t suitable for the themes of the other rooms.  I’m feeling good about the submission process as I have better information if I decide to enter again next year and based on the lovely comments I received from Tess, I am confident that if I do enter next year a piece will be in.

Thank you to Tess, the other jurors and those who favoured  my painting. It is a colossal undertaking to work on this show and as Tess Jaray said, "[Coordinating the show] this year was enough for a lifetime!"

A ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION DIARY 2012

(In Four Parts) 

Part Three

And Then I Waited (to Hear of Acceptance)

‘Successful entrants to the Summer Exhibition receive an invitation to the Summer Exhibition 2012 Varnishing Day Reception which takes place in the Main Galleries on Monday May 28 and is preceded by the Service for Artists in St. James’s Church, Piccadilly. Artists are informed in writing whether or not entries have been successful by Thursday May 24.’

The problem is the tight time line—potentially waiting until May 24 to hear of acceptance. I had flights booked to London months ahead so that Jim and I could leave Toronto on May 26 to arrive in time to participate in Varnishing Day if my entries were successful.

I received an email on May 18 and a follow-up letter on May 24.  My work was Shortlisted, a fine achievement, but my work was not hung in the exhibition. 

A ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION DIARY 2012

(In Four Parts) 

Part Two

Delivering Art to the Royal Academy London England

The difficult part in participating in this exhibition and even more so if you do not live in the UK or European Union but Abroad is that the actual work is hand delivered for judging. The RA receives over 11,000 entries for 1,000 spots in this popular exhibition that has run for 244 years. It would be impossible for the judges to look at JPEG's because the numbers would increase astronomically. Also, for the most part, artwork looks better in photographs so the judges need to see the work in the flesh.

I entered two paintings on heritage wood ironing boards: Son/ Fils and Father/Père. A Kite Board Bag with wheels was the perfect size to crate my narrow but long work for the flight with Air Canada. I wrapped the pieces in cotton ironing board covers and then poly before padding the bag with layers of pink insulation board.

THE KITE BOARD BAG

Because of the heavy weight and lengthy size of the bag and the quick turn around for the delivery trip, I did not go to London for the first phase of the competition. My business partner Jim left Pearson International Airport on March 27 and delivered my work to 6 Burlington Gardens early on Wednesday morning, March 28; the first designated day for delivering paintings. 

JIM WITH PROVISIONS

There were very few people ahead of Jim in the line when the doors opened at 8 am. His delivery experience went smoothly. He was given a large area to unwrap the work and then after a brief conversation with the staff accepting work; the ironing boards were placed on a conveyor belt and sent on their way to storage to join the other works for the judges viewing.  

6 BURLINGTON GARDENS

We allowed an extra day for the delivery in case things didn’t go well on the first designated delivery day, which we didn’t need so Jim had an extra day in London. Serendipitously our dear friend Adrian Eccleston who is a guitarist and musical director for Drake was in London rehearsing. Adrian is on the Club Paradise World Tour with Drake. Although we all live in Toronto it took the delivery of art work in London to finally be able to meet up with him. Jim and Adrian caught up over dinner on Carnaby Street.

ADRIAN AND JIM: CARNABY STREET                    

www.musicisageless.com                                    

Jim returned to Toronto on March 30.                                                                                  

A ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION DIARY 2012

(In Four Parts) 

Part One

Counting on Canada Post and the Royal Mail

This year I submitted two paintings to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London England. It was the first time that I have transported my art out of North America. The process was an exciting learning curve with the result being that I established myself as an importer in the European Union for my art and for going forward I am on even playing field for submitting my work in the future to the RA.

The easy part of the submission process began in late January by purchasing an Entry Form online to indicate my intention to enter two paintings.

A short while later I received my Entry Form. I had to fill it out and mail it back promptly because it had to reach the RA in the UK before the March 13 deadline.